'I LOVE LAS VEGAS': Goodman rules out Senate bid
Mayor lists several projects he wants to shepherd to the finish
By DAVID McGRATH SCHWARTZ
REVIEW-JOURNAL
Oscar Goodman
Las Vegas mayor ends speculation over seeking Democratic nomination
Mayor Oscar Goodman said he will not seek the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate, stifling speculation about the popular mayor's political aspirations.
"I love Las Vegas, I love being mayor of Las Vegas," Goodman said in an interview Wednesday with the Review-Journal. "I have a lot on my plate, I want to see it come to fruition, and I can only do that at home."
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He cited efforts such as the rehabilitation of the Fifth Street School, development of the city's 61-acre Union Park land west of downtown and pursuit of a major sports franchise for Las Vegas as projects he wants to see completed on his watch.
The mayor said he was swayed by the possibility that his son, Oscar Goodman Jr., might move to Las Vegas. "Then, I'd have all four children here," he said.
Goodman, a former high-profile defense attorney, took office in 1999. His years as mayor have been marked by eccentric comments, a large personality and, critics said, an outsized ego fed by prolonged speculation about a Senate bid.
Throughout, his popularity has remained high. In a March 31 Zogby Interactive Poll, Goodman trailed incumbent Republican John Ensign by 8 percentage points, 48 percent to 40 percent. Jack Carter, the Democratic candidate in the Senate race, trailed Ensign by 14 percentage points, 51.6 percent to 37.6 percent.
Goodman had been courted by Democratic senators, including New York's Charles Schumer and Nevada's Harry Reid, the minority leader.
"I was told I could make a difference in America, and I wanted to believe it," Goodman said.
On Wednesday, Carter, the son of President Carter, said Goodman had called him with the news.
"I told him I appreciated it. I told him he'd be a real tough opponent, and I'd much rather have him on my side," Jack Carter said. "I would like to have Oscar support me as much as he will, but poll numbers will come from actual work."
Goodman had said recently that potential donors told him they were withholding money from Senate candidates until he announced his decision.
Through spokeswoman Sharyn Stein, Reid said, "Oscar would've been a great candidate, but we have a great candidate in Jack Carter, and we expect good things from him."
Goodman did not do away with all of the mystery surrounding his future.
The mayor would not rule out Wednesday a run for governor. But he did cast doubt on such a bid: "I can't think of a circumstance when I will be in the governor's race."
In the race for governor, Goodman's poll numbers were stronger than for Senate. The same Zogby poll showed him leading Republican front-runner Jim Gibbons 43 percent to 40 percent, faring better than the two Democratic candidates in the race, Henderson Mayor Jim Gibson and state Sen. Dina Titus.
The campaigns of Titus and Gibson said the possibility of a Goodman candidacy has no bearing on their campaigns.
As for his own political future with the city, Goodman said he plans to seek re-election to a third and final term as mayor "as long as I'm happy up here."
http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2006/Apr-20-Thu-2006/news/6951515.html
